Episode 3-75
Summary As the team approaches the Temple of Chaos, Yuta explains that during Gandharva's genocides, Kubera was the first god to decide to kill him. Ran asks if Agni and Varuna followed Kubera. Yuta replies that was a while before Varuna followed him, but Agni, who also wanted to kill Gandharva, did not agree with Kubera on the method. So Kubera acted alone, only informing Agni once there was no turning back. Ran asks what that method was, and Yuta replies that is was granting Gandharva the ability to obliterate the souls of the dead. Ran observes that it is hardly a solution, and that it made the situation worse. Yuta agrees, and adds that this was the reason Agni opposed it, so Kubera approached his mother alone. In a flashback, Kali sits naked on a pile of skulls, and tells Kubera to think again about getting rid of Gandharva, since he is close friends with Vishnu. Kubera acknowledges that he did not approach Vishnu for that reason, and he knew Brahma and Shiva would have no interest unless it involved the existence of the universe, so that leaves only her among the primeval gods. Kali admits that she has no reason to assist him since it is fun watching Gandharva's massacres from the sidelines. Kubera points out that her ultimate goal is to get rid of all beings stronger than her, and that in the previous universe, he clearly saw her victory. Kali counters that it is different for someone who came over intact. Kubera admits that winning here the same way would be difficult because of beings like Ananta who has an outlandish sura form, and Gandharva, who has unlimited regeneration. When Kubera asks if she can kill them all, she responds that they will die anyway once the universe is destroyed. Kubera notes that she has yet to succeed in destroying it, and she has been sealed many times already. Kali claims that everything will lead to her eventual success, and the infinite opportunities given to her make things rather boring. Kubera reveals that there is one way to alleviate her boredom, and asks her if she wants to see it. Kali expresses her interest. Yuta continues to explain that it is hardly a problem to the gods when humans die, and their souls go to the afterlife where the gods are in charge. However, it became problematic when Gandharva began to obliterate their souls. In another flashback, Varuna proposes that they avoid more damage by changing the rules of processing souls; they can deny Gandharva time to obliterate the souls by sending them directly to the afterlife upon death. Yama argues against it, stating that the souls must wait some time before they go to the afterlife, because otherwise there will be a big problem. Indra and Surya agree with Yama, while Brahma appears indifferent. Yuta states that changing the rules for processing souls after death was the best way to prevent their obliteration, but there were many gods in disagreement. While the gods spent a long time debating the issue, Gandharva continued to annihilate countless more souls. Ran interrupts, noting that Yuta left out one important point: How did Gandharva get that ability in the first place? Yuta divulges that his mother possessed many dangerous names that were prohibited from being used, and one of the names had the ability to obliterate souls. Ran remembers hearing about Kali having dangerous names the last time they traveled through the water channels, and suddenly recalls that it was Asha who told him. He realizes that he keeps forgetting about her, and Leez states that it will keep happening, and he will forget her again as soon as he thinks of something else. When Ran asks her to keep reminding him, she replies that he has no reason to try since thinking of her makes you feel dirty. Ran wonders how she could change so much from the kid who had so much faith in Asha in spite of the fact that she was a serial killer, and wonders if Asha killed her family or something. Ran feels tension in the air again, and tells them to just ignore him and continue with their previous talk. He notes that the change with the souls sounds like the horror story surrounding hoti vishnu. Leez asks if he knows about that, and he replies that of course he does, since his aunt was the Priest of Resurrection before the Cataclysm. He reveals that humans are divided on the issue of the association between the body and the soul, whether or not it is a bad side effect. Yuta says that the gods were similarly divided as well, and as a result, it took more time than Kubera expected. Ran interjects, saying that Yuta seems to be a lot older than he seems because he knows so many specifics of the distant past. Yuta claims that he heard all of it from his mother, and that it all happened long before he was born. Ran says that in the end, the problem is that she gave Gandharva a terrible ability that created an astronomically huge problem, and then asks why she even told her son about all about it. He surmises that Kali does not think of such a thing as bad. Yuta disagrees, saying that she likely knows that it is, but does not think that doing something bad is not right. Ran asks if they are not the same thing, but Yuta continues on to say that Agni became more passionate than before in his search for a way to kill Gandharva, and it was around this time that Varuna changed her opinion and desired the death of Gandharva more than the other gods who were initially indifferent. Yuta then reveals that his mother later denied giving Gandharva that ability, claiming instead that he stole the ability the same way he stole the name "Gandharva" at the beginning of the universe. Ran asks if the gods actually believed her, and Yuta says that the fact that Gandharva stole his name was true, and his mother was successfully persuasive. As a result, the gods who most wanted Gandharva dead gathered right here... The ground begins to rumble, and a fissure appears and opens up, revealing a red liquid below. Something bursts forth from the fissure, and a shocked Ran asks if it is some sort of guardian, and then asks Yuta if he was a way to get through it. An enormous red creature towers over the trio. Currygom's comment This episode shows Agni before he obtained Fathomless Fire. Afterword It's been such a long time since we've seen their faces clearly! But they're in mono c h r o m e The same character Varuna is one of the gods who can change gender, but for some reason, she had decided to live only as a woman. (She is a woman in both images above, too.) For your information, her reason has nothing to do with things like being in love with a male god. Varuna has no interest in dating. Her attire changes very frequently; when she's not fighting, she wears -like clothes, and she wears armor when she's in combat. Once upon a time, Leez was in charge of making those faces as well. It's Ran who saves me from this serious and dreary atmosphere. T_T Unexpectedly in the tank role Will Ran be safe in that role? Notes * Leez the cat(?) does not appear in this episode, even though it was with the trio at the end of the previous episode. * According to Sagara, the size of Ananta's sura form is beyond imagination, and it is shown as a gigantic, glowing snake that dwarfs galaxies in Episode 2-51. References